In a well-functioning dialogue, the nonverbal and often implicit visual and auditory cues ensure good continuation without interruptions or overlapping speak. In mutual interplay, both partners participate in turn-organisation, and therefore an analysis of cues indicating turn-taking and turn-yielding can provide information about the participants' social skills, whether or not the dialogue is verbal. This article presents relevant concepts from conversation analysis literature in order to analyse music therapy interplay aimed at promoting preverbal and social skills. As the character of the turn-organisation is dependent on the developmental age of the participants, the described cues are compared to research in early mother-child interplay, as well as studies of turn-organisation in dialogues with disabled children. The theoretical part of the article is illustrated by a turn-analysis of case material from music therapy with a 2½-year old boy with communication disorders. The analysis was part of the author's doctoral research and focuses on the boy's participation in turn-organisation as well as the therapist's use of turn-yielding and turn-overlapping. The article concludes with a discussion of the applied theoretical concepts in relation to music therapy practice. It will be suggested that the turn-yielding cues can be compared to response-evoking techniques, while the management of simultaneousness (overlaps) naturally is very different in verbal than in musical dialogues.

Mood changes in four male participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were observed following their participation in a 15-session song-singing programme. An analysis of the song material was undertaken to categorise the songs according to the predominant mood they portrayed. Results showed significant differences between participants for all moods (p<0.001). Immediate effects were reversed where participants experienced increases in sadness, anger, fear and fatigue. Long-term effects were significant for some participants who reported increased feelings of happiness and decreased feelings of sadness, fear, confusion, tension and fatigue in the long-term. Characteristics of the songs chosen for therapy were typically representative of feelings of sadness. Findings suggest that immediate effects of song-singing intensify and provide cathartic experiences for people with TBI who may have no other space for which to express negative emotions. Long-term effects of sing singing have a positive effect on mood state.

Music therapy in the treatment of chronic neurological illness typically focuses on the use of music to address the emotional and psychosocial impact of loss and change stemming from pathology. A range of clinical techniques is described in anecdotal accounts spanning instrumental improvisation, song composition and singing. However, there is scant reference to the musical and emotional experience of singing as a clinical technique with individuals living with chronic degenerative illness. Drawing on the results of an empirical investigation into the effects of music therapy with clients with chronic neurological illness, this paper reveals how singing may be used by clients to monitor their physical disease process. Grounded theory research with this population has revealed that music therapy elicits processes in which individuals monitor the physical changes caused by their disease process (Magee and Davison 2004). Based upon these research findings, this paper illustrates that individuals living with illnesses which cause loss of voice function may find the act of singing a highly physical experience. As such, singing may be used to monitor subtle changes which have occurred due to the disease process. Individuals living with degenerative illness may use singing within therapy as a way to defy their illness process and as an expression of life's breath running through the body. Singing and voice work within clinical music therapy is therefore not only a vehicle for emotional expression, but also an invaluable tool in gaining an understanding of the client's experience, offering a boundaried environment for exploration of loss and degeneration. Finally, the paper provides a theoretical framework for the emotional experience of singing songs of personal meaning in therapy.